Why This Wheat-Focused ETF Is Suddenly On The Radar Of Retail Investors

Teucrium Wheat Fund WEAT — a wheat-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) — is seeing high interest from retail investors.

What Happened: WEAT was the fifth-most discussed stock on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets forum as of press time early Friday, having attracted 118 mentions.

The ETF is also the third-most discussed stock on Stocktwitz.

See Also: Unprecedented: Grain Expert Talks Russia-Ukraine And Its Impact On The Farmers, Commodities

Why It Matters: Shares of the ETF touched a new 52-week high of $11.75 on Thursday and gained more than 15% in the regular trading session, even as the major U.S. indices closed lower.

The ETF’s gains come as wheat and corn prices have surged along with other commodities amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stoking fears about inflation due to tighter global supplies. 

Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter.

Ukraine accounts for about 12% of the global wheat export market and is estimated to supply 16% of the world’s corn exports this year, as per a report by Al-Jazeera, citing the United States Department of Agriculture.

Wheat prices have surged to the highest level since 2008. Wheat futures jumped by the exchange limit in Chicago, rising 6.6% to $12.09 a bushel, as per a report by Bloomberg on Friday.

Price Action: WEAT closed 15.6% higher in Thursday’s regular trading session at $11.11 and further rose 11.1% in the after-hours session to $12.35.

Read Next: Russian Invasion Creates 'Upward Pressure On Inflation,' Powell Says